Do You Have Diabetes and Not Know It?

By Mary Lou Maxin, R.N., CDE

Diabetes can be difficult to self-diagnose. We tend to dismiss our symptoms and blame other causes for how we are feeling.

A family history of diabetes can provide a clue, but some people still ignore the symptoms, even when they persist. The “aha” moment doesn’t come until you find yourself in a doctor’s office or emergency room.

Diagnosing Diabetes
Doctors can suspect diabetes by simply pricking a patient’s finger and testing the blood. If the test is inconclusive despite the symptoms, you will be sent to a laboratory for further analysis.

The diagnosis of diabetes can be rather unnerving, but being armed with the knowledge is much better than living with the symptoms and then contending with the long-term consequences of the disease. Early detection of the disease can spare you from extensive treatments and prevent diabetic complications such as heart problems, neuropathy (nerve damage), nephropathy (kidney damage) and retinopathy (eye damage). All of these complications can be minimized and some avoided through early diagnosis and treatment.

There are three types of diabetes:

• Type 1: An autoimmune disease that usually manifests from childhood to 30 years of age.
  
• Type 2: Often caused by insulin resistance that often develops as a result of obesity in adults and children.
  
• Gestational diabetes: Develops during some pregnancies and usually goes away once the baby is born.

Symptoms to Watch For
Two or more symptoms that persist are more than enough to warrant a call to schedule an appointment with your doctor. Common symptoms are:

• Increased thirst
  
• Frequent urination
  
• Hunger after eating a full meal
  
• Unexplained weight loss
  
• Dry mouth
  
• Blurry vision
  
• Headaches
  
• Slow-healing cuts and sores
  
• Frequent yeast infections
  
• Impotency
  
• Discoloration of skin on the neck, armpits and groin ranging from light brown to black and velvety to coarse

Some of these symptoms are often dismissed as being nothing unusual. For instance, a person taking antihistamines for allergies could experience dry mouth and drink more water. Visits to the bathroom will certainly become more frequent as a result. Fatigue is often attributed to work, stress or simply not getting ample sleep. Blurry vision is blamed on aging. But taking these symptoms lightly can delay the diagnosis and treatment of a disease that can be effectively managed.

How Sutter Can Help
Sutter Regional Medical Foundation offers a diabetes program. Once diagnosed with diabetes, patients can ask their health care provider for a referral to the program. The objective of the program is to provide education, resources and meal plans for developing a new lifestyle as a diabetic. Program participants will meet with a certified dietician to help them learn how to self manage diabetes.

For more information about the program, visit our Diabetes Self Management Web page or call Sutter’s diabetes disease management specialist at 436-2595.